


A Very Cliché Christmas

by JoyKatieWrites



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2020-10-13 12:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20582426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoyKatieWrites/pseuds/JoyKatieWrites
Summary: It's Christmas. It's SQ. It's AU. What else do you need to know? I don't own anything you recognise. Just a little xmas cliché that kinda got away from me.





	A Very Cliché Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> ~ Ok, so I know this is Christmas cliché, and I have read so many SQ stories similar to this from years ago, but I think I just had an idea and wanted to see where it went. This is AU and is going to be an o/s.

Emma bit her lip as she smoothed out the wrapping of the small box that was her Christmas gift to Regina. This was the third time she had wrapped the gift, noticed a miniscule if not invisible defect in the paper and ripped it off, only to wrap it again.

The slam of the front door downstairs caused the blonde to jump, shoving the gift under the duvet lest it be seen by whomever had just entered the house. She heard the heavy footfalls of her son as they ran up the stairs to his room and took a breath as she heard the loud thud of his rucksack as he threw it on the floor. She quickly shot Ruby a text to thank her for delivering Henry home safe and sat and waited until he went downstairs.

“Ma…?” He heard the kid call out for her and stayed quiet, hoping he would simply think she was out. When the voice continued to grow quieter as he looked for her downstairs, she lifted the corner of the duvet to fish out the present, cursing loudly when she noticed the paper was wrinkled. She huffed, ripping the paper off and scrunching it into a ball. It was times like this she wished she could somehow magically wrap the gift to perfection.

Using a ruler and pencil she unrolled the wrapping paper, glad she had thought to buy a whole roll just for this gift and the one other, and measured out the perfect square of paper. She cut it slowly, and heard the front door open and close again, figuring Henry had left the house. Situating the box perfectly in the centre of the square, opening it one last time. She grinned as she saw the ring she had chosen, nestled in the black velvet holder, closing her eyes as she pictured Regina’s face when she first saw it. She pictured Regina happy, tears in her eyes as she accepts the blonde’s proposal, and the three of them celebrating, as they were finally a proper family.

The door to the bedroom opened, but this time Emma was too engrossed in staring at what she thought was Regina’s perfect gift to notice their son watching her from the doorway. The young boy stood silent for a second, shocked at the expression on his ma’s face before trying to back out of the room as silently has entered. Unfortunately, the young boy wasn’t as stealthy as he thought he was and Emma noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Emma dropped the open box to the bed, looking up at her son with wide eyes. She had only been in his life for not much over a year, and only living with his mother as a partner for a number of months. Emma cursed herself for not thinking to ask Henry’s permission first. What if he told Regina what he had seen, was he even old enough to know what a secret was? Or what if he didn’t want her to propose? What if he thought she was just going to take his time away from his mom? What if Henry wanted them to be a family but Regina thought it was too soon…

She hadn’t noticed in her internal ramblings that the boy had ran from the room, and so leaving the gift and wrapping where it was she ran after the son she hadn’t known for long, seeing him lying face down on his bed. She paused in the doorway not knowing whether to enter the room or not. “Henry…” When she got no reply, she took a tentative step forward before walking over to his bed, and sitting beside him. “Henry…” Her hand found its way onto his shoulder and she repeated his name again. “Kid, listen. I am sorry you had to see that. And I am so sorry that I didn’t think to ask you first…” She bit her lip as she considered the fact that she had only been in her son’s life for a couple of years and she hadn’t even thought to talk to him about what he would probably consider her taking the mother that had raised him from infancy away from him.

Feeling the child’s shoulders shake under her hand had her rethinking her whole idea of proposing, until he turned to face her, his eyes shining as he laughed at her. She couldn’t help but feel agitated that he had made her think he was upset but before she could say anything, the boy lunged at her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. The blonde took a deep breath, burying her nose in her son’s hair as he squeezed her tight.

“Mama, are you kidding? I think this is great! My mom deserves happiness and I think you make her happy.” Emma blinked back tears at her sons’ term of endearment, proud at how grown up he was at just eight years old. She kept her arms loosely around him, not wanting him to feel suffocated until he pulled back from her, leaning against the wall as he watched her.

Henry kept his eyes on his ma, but he was thinking about his other mother, the one that had raised him. She never talked about Daniel, though after seeing a picture of the man when he was young in his mother’s study he had asked. He remembered when Emma was over one night, earlier in the relationship before she moved in and Regina had gotten drunk. The brunette was a loud, sappy drunk, which meant Henry had woken up when she had started crying and spilling all her secrets about her first love to the blonde. He went back to bed to avoid completely disturbing her privacy, but knew from then on that his mom loved his ma, and vice versa as Emma had stuck around.

“Don’t worry about it ma... there’s no way mom will say no.” He paused, taking a breath as the detective began wringing her hands together, her worry of the situation beginning to stress her out. Henry poked her, grinning as he drew her attention to him as he moved to lean against her shoulder. “You know what mom told me? She said that she has only ever loved four men and she’s only ever loved one woman.” Emma frowned, not really hearing what the young boy was saying. “And that she’ll only ever love that one woman. Forever.” Emma’s eyes widened at that, while wondering what had possessed the woman to tell her child this. Henry could see the questions in her eyes and smirked. “She only said that to me when she thought I was asleep ma… but that was the night before she had asked you to move in. She loves you. And I love you. And we can finally be a real family.”

~

Emma and Henry had stayed chatting until the kid practically pushed Emma out of his room, stating he had homework to do, and so Emma returned to the room she shared with Regina and finished the wrapping, somehow making it perfect on her first attempt back. With a glance at the clock, she saw that there was just over an hour until her beloved returned home, and so figured she best get started on dinner. She hid the wrapped box, protected in bubble wrap, in a box labelled journals, knowing Regina was obsessively cautious with privacy to even open the lid and made her way down to the kitchen. Looking in the refrigerator, she noticed that Regina had recently been to the best farmers’ market in Boston the previous weekend, and decided to poach pollock with nori and samphire with a mussel beurre blanc. Before her life had taken a dramatic turn, Emma had enrolled in a culinary school, just outside her home town of Storybrooke, but when she moved from Storybrooke to New York after her parents’ deaths to when she met Regina years later, she barely stepped foot in a kitchen. Being with Regina and Henry, being happy had her back into the kitchen and the cop liked to cook whenever she could now, which unfortunately was not very often.

One of the reasons she loved cooking so much was that it gave her time to think, time that when she was out in the field chasing criminals, she didn’t have. Thinking about taking this next big step with Regina and Henry had her thinking about when she met them for the first time. For Emma, it was love, or at least love at first sight of the brunette. For Regina, it was the opposite, with a hatred or at least animosity at first sight of the blonde. Their first contact had been over the phone, and any communications between them for the weeks after that was via either text, phone or email. The first time they had laid eyes on each other had been four weeks after their first talk. Emma smiled, biting her lip as she remembered back to first setting sights on her now girlfriend, who was in a tight dress and heels as she glared at the blonde from the doorway of her apartment building.

~

_ August 2015 _

_Emma glared at her wardrobe, sighing as she realised it would have to be the red dress. She hadn’t had time to pick her favourite blue dress up from the dry cleaners and so it was the slutty red one for this ‘date’. She scoffed as she stripped, noticing it was already, 6:30 and she had to meet this one in half an hour, downtown. Being a bail bondsperson was tough sometimes when most of her ‘dates’ were guys and she was into chicks. Feigning interest, flirting, pretending to be attentive when they talked about themselves and their interests… but it was a job, and one she did well._

_Tonight’s date was with Robin, a thief who had stolen trays of watches and skipped out on bail. It was his fiancée who had hired her, when she had found out he had cheated on her with one of her friends from childhood; one she had deemed necessary to tell her was called Marian. When she confronted him and kicked him out, he had waited until she was at work and emptied her safe. Regina had told Emma in one of their conversations that she had a kid, and the thing that made Regina the angriest was that her son had been attached to Robin, and was heartbroken when he left._

_Her hair had its usual curl, and she decided to forego makeup in order to be there on time and so was out of the door with 25 minutes to make the 40-minute trip. She had called the clamping company en-route and told them the address to meet her, informing them she would point out the car when she arrived. They didn’t ask questions of course, they were the go-to company for the bail bonds company Emma worked for. Regina had informed Emma which car belonged to Robin and so it was easy to point out when she arrived. She left them to work as she made her way into the restaurant, plastering on her ‘interested’ face as she walked to the table where Robin sat._

_Two hours later Emma made her way to Regina’s house. Though it was not usual business to other party after the ‘catch’, Regina had specifically requested Emma meet her after the situation with Robin was sorted. She had been quoted a rather impressive sum for her services yet she was still surprised when she approached the apartment complex to find Mrs Mills owned the whole building. The first glance of the woman, who was apparently rather prominent in the political world, made Emma stop in her tracks. Her mouth went dry, her palms began to sweat and her stomach flip-flopped. This could not be love at first sight, that true love, love at first sight rubbish only happened in fairy tales. Right? It was clear that Regina wasn’t feeling what Emma was, if that arms-crossed, foot tapping, glaring wonder was anything to go by. Emma stepped up to her, suddenly shy and unable to stutter more than single word, “Hi…”_

_~_

Emma grinned to herself as she mixed the sauce for the fish. She had been invited in for ‘the best apple cider she’d ever tasted’ and from that moment, the blonde had been crushing hard on the brunette haired beauty. Emma had managed to sneak a kiss as she made her way out of the door that evening, it wasn’t long before the hatred turned to attraction on Regina’s part, and the couple began to date. The past year and a half had been the best of her life and it was numerous times a week Emma thanked her lucky stars that Regina had contacted Emma for the first time 18 months ago.

She was pulled from her thoughts as she felt strong arms wrap around her waist, and the smell of apples assaulted her senses. She closed her eyes, leaning back into the arms of her girlfriend with a hum. “I was just thinking about you…”

“Oh yeah?” Emma could feel Regina’s smile against her neck. “What about me?” The taller of the two took Regina’s hands in hers, loosening her grip so she could turn in her arms. She reciprocated the pose, pulling Regina tighter towards her as she pressed a kiss to her lips. It was deepened quickly until Regina pulled back; glaring at the woman, she shared a son with. “Well Miss Swan?” She cocked an eyebrow and Emma smirked, stepping back out of her grip.

“Just about when we met. That tight dress… your legs in those heels.” She shook her head, turning back to the food, getting a spoon of the buerre Blanc for Regina to taste. The normally composed politician moaned in the most indecent way, as she tasted the food, and kissed Emma’s cheek quickly before she went upstairs to check on Henry. Emma huffed as Regina left, beginning to plate the food, calling the rest of her family down when she was ready.

The family chatted animatedly as they ate, and Emma got a little paperwork done as Henry helped Regina with the dishes before they sat together in the family room, Henry stretched out on the floor as the couple watched a movie together, answering any questions that Henry threw their way. It was only when they went to bed that night were they able to talk properly.

Emma was already stretched out on top of the duvet, watching Regina from the bed as she did her nightly routine in the adjoining en-suite. “How was your coffee with Kathryn today?” Regina poked her head out of the doorway, rubbing in moisturizer to her forearms with a grin.

“It was great. We don’t get to see each other often and so it was good to just chat with an old friend…” She carried on with her routine, speaking a little louder so Emma could hear her over the basin. The brunette was saying something but Emma was content to just watch her as she moved about the bathroom, thinking about how blessed she was. She soon got bored waiting though, and walked over to her love, copying her move from earlier as she wrapped her arms around her waist from behind, leaning her chin on her shoulder. They locked eyes in the mirror, Emma grinning as Regina began to brush her teeth. “SoKathrynwasjokingaroundtoday…”Emma raised her brow as the older woman paused and continued to brush “Iknowwe’venotbeentogetherallthatlong…”

“Jeez Gina, spit then talk, you’re very erudite but I can’t understand you when you’re chewing on a toothbrush.” She giggled as Regina elbowed her lightly in the ribs. She rinsed, shelfing the brush as she stood where she was, the couple watching each other in the mirror.

“She knows we love each other and that you are it for me…” She bit her lip, worried that her next sentence would freak the former nomad out and cause her to run. “She asked if I was ever gonna grow some balls and ask you to marry me…”

Though she tried, she could not help that she tensed at the mention of marriage, though at the fleeting look of dejection on Regina’s face, it was not for the reason she clearly assumed. She tried to brush it off, pretend that she had not noticed. She smiled brightly, and they could both tell it was fake. “We don’t need a piece of paper to show we love each other… I think we’re great just as we are…” This time it was Regina’s turn to stiffen. She did not reply, merely pulled herself out of Emma’s arms and made her way to the bed, throwing back the covers with a huff. Emma waited until she was sure Regina was looking the other way before she took a deep breath and grinned. It seemed like her Christmas surprise would remain just that, even if it meant Regina would be a little cold towards her for a day or so.

“Gina. Baby.” Emma stepped out of the bathroom, making her way to the bed, standing at Regina’s side instead of climbing into her own side. The brunette ignored her, switching her lamp off, rolling onto her side with a grumble. Emma sighed, had she known Regina would react like a child to her blasé attitude towards marriage she would have obviously approached it differently. She clambered over her girlfriend, lying down to face her. Regina squeezed her eyes shut, clearly pretending to be asleep.

“I didn’t mean we’d never get married Gina, but we’re happy right now, aren’t we?” She received no real response, instead a ‘humph’ as the older woman rolled over to face the wall. Unwilling to allow them to go to bed angry or upset as it appeared was the case, Emma moved closer to Regina, pulling her into her arms so they were back to chest. Regina didn’t fight it. She remained silent but relaxed in Emma’s arms, sighing loudly. She was comforted though, and quickly fell asleep, and only when her breathing evened out did Emma hug her tighter, and fell asleep.

~

Emma woke early the next morning, pouting when she noticed Regina wasn’t in bed with her. She heard the shower running and quickly hopped out of bed, making her way towards the en–suite. She was disappointed to find the door locked, they’d never locked the other out before, it was purely used when they wanted to keep Henry out. With a sigh, she dressed quickly and went downstairs to make Henry some breakfast.

The kid was still in that stage where mornings were fun and so by the time Emma had gone downstairs and pulled the ingredients out of the fridge, Henry slipped into a chair at the table and watched his mother start to make breakfast. “Did you ask mom, ma? Are you getting married?” Emma sighed, plastering a smile on her face when she turned to look at her son.

“Not yet kid. I was gonna give it to her for Christmas next week. Remember though, it’s our secret.”

Henry nodded eagerly; he loved secrets and believed himself to be a great secret-keeper. “I’m good at secrets mama. I never told you that momma hates your car.” Emma grinned, as Henry looked shocked, his hand covering his mouth. “Please don’t tell her I told you!” She stepped away from the counter, sitting down next to him.

“I won’t say anything kid. But you _have_ to stay quiet about our secret ok?” He nodded. “Plus I know she hates my car. She hates my clothes too. She only puts up with me for you…” She meant it as a joke, not realising Henry would take it so seriously. He went from looking scared to hurt and a little angry. “Woah kid, I was joking. I know your momma loves me, just as I love her ok. Even when she’s mad at me, you and she are my whole entire world.” She wrapped her arms around the boy in a quick hug before going back to mixing the sauce for the eggs benedict. She heard, rather than saw Regina walk around the corner, waiting to see if she would continue to ignore her.

“Good morning Henry.” She turned, watching Regina bend down to kiss the top of her sons head. She watched her girlfriend intently; she merely glanced at her and then looked away. The look in her eyes was a little less hurt than the previous night, but being ignored still was not pleasant for the blonde. She continued to watch, not noticing the pot boil as Regina grabbed an apple and walked from the room, towards her study. She bit her lip, trying not to let her emotions show in front of Henry, before plating his breakfast and placing it in front of him. She plated the other breakfast, placing it on the heating rack.

“Listen kid, Sergeant Humbert called me in to cover a shift; Leroy called in sick again so we’ll have to go to the science museum next weekend ok?” He nodded with a frown; even at eight, he could sense the tension between his mothers. “If your mom asks where I am, just tell her Christmas shopping, she’s already mad at me, I don’t want to upset her that I’m working on a Saturday ok?” Mimicking the move of Regina earlier, she kissed the top of Henry’s head and patted him on the shoulder, making her way out of the front door. Only when Regina heard the door slam did she emerge from her study and grabbed the second plate, sitting opposite her son.

“Where did your mother go?” She feigned disinterest, but Henry could tell she wanted to know. He also knew the difference between secrets and lies and so sat up straight, squaring his shoulder.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me something in return.” Quickly wondering if she should really be bargaining with an 8 year old, she nodded, pushing her uneaten breakfast away. “She said to tell you she went Christmas shopping but she really went to work. She said we’ll go to the science museum next weekend, so maybe today can be a day for me and you.” The brunette scowled, people were once again letting down her son.

“I am sorry Henry, of course I can clear my diary and you and I shall spend the day together. We can do anything you want. I could take you to the science museum if you wish?”

Henry shook his head. “No mom, I just wanna spend the day together. We could go to the movies or just watch a movie here. Or we could bake. It has been a long time since we did that together. But first tell me why you and ma are fighting.” Regina sighed, taking Henry’s hand in hers.

“We’re fighting about grown-up things. But she just…” Regina looked down at her plate, blinking away tears. “She just… you and you alone are my whole world; I’ve raised you since you were two weeks old, and she’s been in your life for a year, and I know you love her. I just can’t risk that this is just a bit of fun for her, until she can find someone else. I’m not letting you be hurt like that again.” Henry pulled his hand from his mom’s and her head dropped, pulling her own hand back as the feeling of rejection washed over her. Henry pushed his chair back and was quickly round the other side of the table, wrapping his arms around her. She chuckled lightly as he awkwardly tried to pat her back. “Go upstairs and get ready for the day, I’m just gonna call Emma.” The young boy nodded eagerly at the prospect of a day where he had his mom’s full attention and ran upstairs.

Dialling the number from memory, although it was one of the top saved in her phone Regina called her girlfriend. The phone only rang twice before it was picked up, and Emma sounded as miserable as she felt.

_“Hey.”_

“Miss Swan. Not only did you try to get my son to lie to me, but you also broke a promise to him. And me. Did you really think he wouldn’t tell me the truth?”

_“Gina, I’m sorry…”_

“Do not call me Gina! My name is…” She paused as she heard the other phone drop onto the floor, and the reply by Emma was a little quieter, as if it was further away from the phone. She heard a grunt and the noise of the engine as she waited for Emma to speak.

_“One second Regina just let me grab my…”_ The voice was cut off by the sound of a loud crash and the last thing Regina heard before the line cut off was what sounded like the shattering of glass and a groan.

“Emma? Emma!” She pulled the phone away from her ear to look at the screen, noticing it was no longer connected to a call.

“HENRY!”

~

Regina was pacing in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for Emma to be bought in; Henry was sat in one of the chairs, silently. After the call, and what sounded like a crash, Regina had driven Emma’s usual route to work, not seeing any sign of any accident, before she would called Emma’s branch of the Boston PD and asked Sergeant Humbert if Emma had arrived at work. Hearing she had not, she drove to the nearest hospital to ask if they were aware of any RTA’s She had told Henry they were going to wait for half an hour and if she didn’t come in then they would go home and wait for her to return home later that day.

Henry was quiet. He had not spoken since Regina had explained the call to him, and as constant calls ended in just a repetitive beep, Regina was beginning to feel nauseous, thinking of the last words she had said to her girlfriend, the way they had treated each other the previous night. She pressed end call one more time and stopped in front of Henry, kneeling down to his height.

“Hey honey, let’s just go home, Emma will be fine, she’ll have hit a squirrel or something and she’ll have turned up at work after we called. We’ll go home, have our fun day and tonight the three of us will cook dinner. Ok?” Henry nodded but he didn’t move to stand up.

The doors slammed open and paramedics wheeled a bed in. Regina turned at the noise and locked eyes with the woman she loved. “Gina? What are you doing here?”

Regina breathed out, looking from Henry who looked relieved back to Emma. “Emma. You…” It was then she noticed the rather nasty looking gash on her forehead that was gauzed up, blood seeping through. “You’re bleeding!” Her tone was accusatory, but it was aimed at the paramedics. The brunette squeezed as she felt Henry grab her hand, and watched as the paramedics began to push the gurney down the corridor. The mother-son pair followed as she was wheeled into the only bay with an open curtain. A nurse entered just ahead of Regina and Henry, smiling at Henry as the paramedics reeled off numbers that went right over Emma’s head. Emma opened her arms to Henry who jumped up on the bed and wrapped his arms around his other mother. Regina smiled at the pair, her hands resting on Emma’s boots as she stood at the foot of the bed.

The paramedics left as the nurse who introduced herself as Nurse Bell shined a light in Emma’s eyes, and checked the cut. “I’m gonna need to get Dr Stein to take a look at that Miss Swan, but there’s a good chance you may need stitches.” Henry pulled back and looked up at the nurse. “Stitches? Will that hurt?” Emma shook her head with a smile, ruffling Henry’s hair. “No kid. They will numb it. I’ll be fine.” It was then she looked up at Regina, her smile dropping as she noted her expression. The nurse said something else, which Emma didn’t register, before walking out and pulling the curtain behind her.

“Gina…” She didn’t get another word out as the normally composed woman stepped around to the other side of the bed and flung her arms around her girlfriend and son. “Gina, it’s ok baby, I’m fine. Just a little cut, no harm done.” She pulled the woman closer, pressing a kiss to her temple s Regina sobbed against her shoulder.

“Oh gods, I thought that… Emma I heard a crash and then…” Emma whispered the same words to her, making sure to pull Henry closer too and the family stayed silent for a few moments until the curtain was pulled back.

“Good morning, my name is Doctor Stein but you can call me Frank. I believe you need stitches?” Emma nodded as Henry pulled away from his moms’ embraces, clambering off the bed. He walked around to the side where Regina was stood and took Emma’s hand.

The same nurse came back with a tray with a suture kit. “Alright buddy, we have a vending machine just around the corner, why don’t you go and grab yourself something while we sort your friend out here?” Henry frowned and glanced at Emma who looked up at the nurse.

“I’d like them both to stay if that’s possible. My son makes me brave so I need to hold his hand…” She smiled uneasily down at the kid who grinned and nodded at her. Nurse Bell shrugged as she lay a pad over Emma’s shoulder, removed the dressing, irrigated the wound and injected a local anaesthetic near the cut. Emma squeezed Henry’s hand, watching Regina with a small smile. Regina had one hand on Henry’s shoulder, the other hand resting on Emma’s leg, squeezing gently as she winced. The nurse stepped out of the way, as Doctor Stein checked the numbness and began to stitch. Nurse Bell began to make conversation with Henry as Regina and Emma had a silent conversation.

“Tink!” They were all drawn from their conversations towards Dr Stein who was glaring at the nurse. “The wound is ready to be dressed, thank you.” He turned towards Emma. “Well Miss Swan, I’d like to keep an eye on you for a couple of hours, but you should be fine to go home later on today, and just return next week to have the stitches removed.” The couple thanked the doctor as he left and a minute later, the three were alone again.

“Ok Emma, why don’t you tell us what happened?” Emma nodded, sliding over so both her girlfriend and son could sit on the bed next to her.

“Well I was going to work. I know Henry told you Graham called me…” She patted Henry’s hand as he looked up at her apologetically. “And there was an accident on my normal route so I had to go around the other way. Anyway, for some reason my tyre blew, and obviously, my bug was a little unstable and so I mounted the sidewalk and crashed into the wall. I would have been fine if the airbag worked but for some reason it decided to crap out.” She looked at Henry who was frowning at what he was hearing. “Now we know why your mom hates my car, hey kid?” Henry grinned at her but it dropped when Regina whacked her shoulder.

“This isn’t funny! Emma, you could have been seriously hurt! That bug is going to the junkyard as soon as humanly possible.” Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes as she peeked up at Regina.

“Well, can’t argue with it there seeing as it was a write off…” Regina just gaped at her girlfriend, taking the time to look over every inch of the blonde, looking for further injury. “Hey…” She grabbed Regina’s wrist and looked her square in the eye. “I am fine. I am sorry I scared you guys, but by this time next week, this will all be forgotten. It’s basically a non-event.” Regina huffed again, pouting as she crossed her arms. Henry shook his head, stepping down from the bed.

“I’m gonna give you two a minute alone, I’ll go check out that vending machine…” Regina turned to him, handing him a few dollars from her pocket.

“Don’t go any further than where you’ll be able to hear if I shout you ok?” He nodded, and was out of the gap in the curtain in a second. Emma scooted closer to the other side of the bed, patting next to her in an invitation for her to sit. When she did, Emma leaned her head on her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her. Regina pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry about? I’m the one that was a bitch to you. You have to know Emma, I don’t care about marriage, I just want you and Henry, and I want us to grow old together, and to do that you need to start taking your safety more seriously! I mean gods Em, you were almost shot last year, you were stabbed back in March and then today you got a head injury while driving! Don’t you understand? The thought of you not wanting to marry me hurts, because I can’t live without you!” Emma bit back the urge to ask Regina to marry her right them and there and instead pulled her close, kissing her, putting all her passion behind it. Regina returned the kiss, releasing all her pent up anxiety. They didn’t hear Henry pull the curtain back but they break apart at his muttered “ew.”

Emma grinned, only pulling back enough to lean her forehead against Regina’s, wincing at the pressure against her cut. “I don’t know how you don’t still get this Regina. It is gonna take a lot more than knives, bullets, crazy people or dangerous cars to take me away from you. When we’re 100 and still together, you will regret not cutting me loose sooner.” The brunette giggled, resting her head against Emma’s shoulder, as Emma winked at her son, the latter grinning secretively.

~

_ 10 Years Ago _

_It was like she had cried for a week, and now she was all out of tears. Growing up, her dad had been everything to her and her mother. David was the perfect father, attended every track event, held her when she cried, helped her with her homework. He was her hero. And he died a hero. Emma had only been gone from Storybrooke for three months, living her dreams in culinary school when she got the call. He had been protecting hostages during a robbery at the only bank in their small town and had died when he jumped in front of a bullet meant for someone else. _

_Emma had quit school the day she got the call and had travelled from New York back to the quaint little corner of Maine she had been raised in, to be there for her mother. Now, as they stood, arms wrapped around each other, they watched David’s coffin be lowered into the ground. The church had been full, officers from others areas of Maine, friends and family, almost the whole town had turned out to say goodbye. Most of them cried. But Emma could cry no more, she had to be strong for her mom. _

_She never expected that three months later she’d be in the same position, this time standing alone as she stood numb, as the people of Storybrooke paid tribute to her beloved mother. How, in the space of four months had she gone from having the perfect family and following her dreams, to an unemployed orphan with no job prospects? _

_After the funeral, Emma left Storybrooke for good, leaving her parents’ solicitor Mr Gold to deal with the sale of the house and Emma returned to New York. Her friends tried to convince her to remain in Storybrooke, to go back to school and become a chef, lie she’d been dreaming about doing since she was a child, however, parentless and with quickly dwindling savings she decided to join the police force and be like her father. While she was training, she undertook a job as a bail bondsperson, she didn’t love it, but at least it paid enough for her to afford a place to live and to maintain the car her parents had gifted her for her 16th birthday. She wasn’t happy, but she was surviving._

_It was only when it was approaching the anniversary of her parent’s deaths did she begin to go off the rails. Her attendance at police training dropped, she took on fewer cases for bail bonds and began drinking most evenings, either out in a bar or even drinking alone at home. _

_It was on the day of the one-year anniversary of her father’s funeral that she met Neal. She had already had more than her fair share of tequila when a man who claimed he could ‘rock her world’ approached her and continued to ply her with drinks. The next morning she woke with the hangover from hell, took one look at the snoring figure beside her and dressed quickly, making her way out of there before he woke. With the weeks counting down until the anniversary of her mother’s death, she continued in her self-destructive behaviour, drinking and partying until the academy kicked her out. Her boss would have fired her had she not known what time of year it was; for some reason Cleo kept her on the payroll._

_It was just as her luck would have it that it was on the anniversary of her mother’s death that Emma discovered she was pregnant. Of course, the drinking stopped, but with nothing to mask the pain she was feeling, the teen fell into a depression that no amount of counselling could fix. What should have bought her joy, instead bought her sorrow, and even hearing her baby’s heartbeat did nothing to raise her spirits. As she grew, it became difficult for the blonde to continue with her bail bonds work and so Cleo began to teach her the non-physical side of her police training that she had missed. _

_She made her decision around her sixth month of pregnancy to give her baby up for adoption. Though she had grown to love and adore the life growing inside her, she knew in her current situation she would have been in no fit state to raise the boy. Cleo helped her with all the paperwork, and she decided on a closed out-of-state adoption to make sure she could never change her mind. She knew that giving her child to a family who would love him, one who wanted nothing more than a child to raise would really give him his best chance, so she read applications, looking for someone who stood out, someone who would be the true mother to her son._

_She found the perfect applicant when she was only a few weeks from giving birth, a woman who lived four hours from her, in the opposite direction than her home state. When he was born, she held him once, kissed him, had the nurse take a photo of them, apologised and handed him to her social worker, the tears pooling in her eyes preventing from watching her carry him from the room._

_~_

It was dinnertime before the family got home, and Emma was beginning to feel the effects of the accident. Henry had been talkative on the drive back, keeping the couple entertained as they both thought of what the other had said to them earlier that day. Emma kept her hand on Regina’s leg, not wanting to distract her from her driving, but wanting to be near her as possible. When they got back to the apartment, Regina hovered by Emma’s door and followed behind her as they walked up the steps, only stopping when Emma was sat comfortably in the family room, curled up on the sofa. Reluctantly, Regina left Emma alone watching a movie while she went to tidy up the kitchen from the morning. Henry decided he would rather sit with his ma than wash dishes and so brought his backpack downstairs to work on some homework.

Regina kept herself busy in the kitchen, washing the breakfast dishes and pulling out the ingredients for Emma’s ultimate comfort food, grilled cheese. Though Emma had thankfully, barely been injured in the accident, her car had been totalled. At the hospital, Emma had been taken for a head CT just to rule out any further damage and Regina had gone to the garage where Emma’s car had been taken to look at the damage for herself. She was shocked by what she had seen, Emma had been lucky to have not been injured further. Though Regina knew that the car had been a gift from her parents, she also knew that she would willingly incur any wrath if it meant the blonde would never again drive that death trap. She knew her girlfriend would never speak to her again if she got rid of it, and so she paid the garage an almost extortionate amount to fix the car and then leave it in storage until Emma was able to do something with it. Before she returned to the hospital, she had driven around, looking for the perfect gift for her true love, this being the first year in decades that she had firstly, ever left purchasing a gift until the week before Christmas, and secondly, struggled with being able to find the perfect gift for the intended recipient.

She was lost in her thoughts when she felt Emma’s strong arms wrap around her waist and she turned round to scold her for moving from the sofa; not realising she had tears pouring down her cheeks. Emma’s content smile morphed into a frown and she quickly wiped away the tears on her girlfriends face.

“Hey, I just came to check what was taking you so long… why are you crying…?” Regina quickly turned and switched the stove off, and turned back to Emma, stepping closer and laying her head against Emma’s chest. The blonde pulled her snugly against her, kissing the top of her head, holding her tightly for minute as they stood in silence. Regina shifted slightly and slid her hand under Emma’s shirt; fingers tracing one of the scars that was left from the stabbing Emma had been involved in. She remembered the call she had received from the hospital, she and Emma had only been dating a short while, she was lucky really that her friend Kathryn had been in the hospital the time Emma had been brought in, otherwise she probably wouldn’t have known for a few days until Emma was awake.

“I just… I began to think about my life without you and… well it scared me. I know we discussed this already but it just hit me today, how many times I could have lost you when we’ve not even lived our lives together yet. Do you realise that since I’ve known you, you’ve almost left me five times! The thought of facing Christmas without you, of having to tell Henry his other mother was…” She was cut off as Emma leaned down and pressed her lips to Regina’s, effectively shutting her up. They remained melded together until Henry burst into the room, stating just how hungry he was. The couple jumped apart, one grinning, the other embarrassed. Henry, though often exclaiming his ‘disgust’ whenever he saw them kissing, they both knew he was happy that they had finally found each other.

Emma moved to the counter, beginning to slice their homemade bread into thick slices when Regina stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Please go and rest my love, Henry and I can cook tonight.” With a glance to the boy who was nodding with a smile, she nodded to her girlfriend, pausing a moment in front of the frowning brunette for a quick kiss, muttering ‘I’m fine’ as she walked out of the room. Henry mostly stood around, grating cheese and picking out cans of soup from the cupboard while Regina grilled the sandwiches. As she plated, she sent Henry into the family room to choose a movie, planning to make the next couple of days all about Emma, and her healing.

For the first time in years, Regina chose to leave the dishes until the next morning. Henry had taken himself off to bed halfway through ‘Table for Three’, the want to spend time with his moms not enough to make him sit all the way through a ‘chick flick’ and Emma had fallen asleep, her head on Regina’s lap as the movie was ending. Regina had been running her fingers through the locks gently, untangling the knots that had formed over the day. When the movie was over, she lifted Emma into her arms, struggling slightly under her weight as she moved towards the stairs. She found she could not continue to lift the blonde up the stairs and so placed her feet on the ground, holding Emma’s arm around her neck, shaking her awake.

“Emma, dear, I just need you to wake up and help me get you up to bed, and then you can go right back to sleep ok?” Emma nodded, keeping her arm around Regina as she stumbled up the stairs. She was asleep again before her head hit the pillow, and Regina spent an extra moment just making sure she was covered with the duvet and comfortable. She watched as Emma slept, noticing the frown on her girlfriends face, which seemed to settle as Regina brushed her hair back from her face, tracing the dressing that covered the deep cut from the accident. With a sigh, she stood and undressed slipping into her side of the bed. Sleep didn’t come easily, and when it did; her dreams were filled with an entirely different experience when she reached the hospital.

~

The next few days passed much the same. The Sunday was spent quietly as a family, eating together, watching movies, playing board games. Emma seemed to be sleeping more, and Regina was beginning to grow concerned that the accident had done more damage than first thought. Henry returned to school for the Monday, Regina skipped work to keep an eye on the blonde and Emma didn’t argue when she was told to rest. The Tuesday was Henry’s last day of school until after the holidays. Regina called in some help and spent another day at home, hanging up some Christmas decorations while Emma watched from the sofa. Any discussions between the couple remained about Henry, or the holidays, neither wanting to mention the previous couple of days.

It had come to her one night, the perfect gift for Regina to get Emma, and after a quick trip out stating errands, the gift was bought and that evening wrapped. Emma hadn’t cooked since the accident and so insisted on roasting a chicken that evening. Regina and Henry both helped, Henry mashing potatoes while Regina kept an eye on the clock, and tidied up after the duo. That evening Regina took Henry out for ice cream and Emma got to work on Henry’s present.

She had come up with the idea around the time she had moved in with Regina and Henry, as the first Christmas she had known them she and Regina were still just dating, and she simply joined them for their evening meal, spending most of Christmas alone. This Christmas was going to be different, and although she had never celebrated Christmas before she came to Storybrooke, and so had little to compare to, she knew this was going to be the best Christmas ever. Knowing that Regina was going to text her when they were on their way home she pulled out all the parts of the gift that she had to put together. Looking at all the gift in front of her, she frowned. Her son was eight, this was the first Christmas when they knew that Henry was the baby she gave up, Regina had bought him a new science kit complete with microscope and telescope and all Emma was giving him was… well it wasn’t enough. She had almost five days left to find him something that he would enjoy and so she made up her mind to talk to Regina about it later. 

Deciding to go ahead with this gift as just an extra, she picked up the first picture, the one picture in the world that had Henry as a baby with Emma and stared at it. She had spent many hours staring at that picture, she had only held him for mere moments, those moments too painful to speak about that, no one aside from the people in the room at the time had seen that photo, not even Regina. The edges were worn and one corner had a tiny rip, but Emma decided that it was time for her son to have that picture. The next picture she had got from Regina, it was one that she kept in her own personal collection that people didn’t really see and so Emma guessed that Henry had never seen that picture, the first one Regina had taken with Henry, either. There were other pictures, including some of the three of them but the third one that she focused on was taken the day Emma and Regina had told Henry that Emma was his mom.

~

_ Last Year _

_She had begun dating Regina a few weeks after their meeting but with schedules, they barely saw each other twice a week. She had met Henry, for what everyone thought was the first time a handful of weeks later. Spending most of Christmas alone, Emma asked Regina if they could go out for New Years and surprisingly she had agreed. They’d had drinks and shared a kiss and the next morning they woke up together. After that moment they begun to spend more time together, having dinner with Henry or going on dates together numerous times a week. It was six months before Henry’s 8th birthday, just less than five months after she and Regina had begun dating that she realised her real connection to the family. _

_Emma and Regina had decided to have a ‘slumber party’ the same evening Henry was staying at a friend’s, and they had a movie marathon and ate popcorn and pizza and talked late into the night. Emma had asked Regina about Henry, it was that night that she found out he was adopted, and it was that night that Emma revealed that she had once had a baby who was adopted. They hadn’t thought much about it that night, but the next morning Regina seemed quiet. Emma sat opposite the brunette at the table, nibbling on a piece of dry toast._

_“What’s up? You’re not normally this quiet…” Regina glanced up at her girlfriend and frowned, causing Emma to shrink back in her seat. As Regina stayed silent, Emma began to imagine the scenarios of how this would play out, she was sure she was being dumped. She cringed as she remembered the previous evening, thinking back to Regina’s face as she told her about the baby she gave up, realising then that Regina had been distant since that revelation. With Regina still not saying anything, she decided to try to plead her case. She had fallen in love with this woman and her son, though she hadn’t yet informed her of that, and she couldn’t face it if Regina was to break up with her because of her behaviour. “Listen, Regina… I was a different person back then, my parents were dead… I was sick, I couldn’t look after my kid and so I wanted to give him his best chance… Please don’t hate me for that…” Regina shook her head, shocked to see the big, strong cop she knew almost in tears. _

_“Emma, I could never hate you… I’m not… I understand why you thought you may not be the best parent to your child, I’ve had that doubt many times with Henry. My concern is more… what if you reach that stage again, and being around Henry is too much? I mean, with all due respect, you left your kid once, what’s gonna stop you leaving someone else’s kid?” She paused as Emma’s face dropped and she stood quickly, moving around the table to pull her girlfriend into her arms. “Emma, I… Henry loves having you around, and I… like you a lot. But I can’t have him be hurt if you can’t hack this…”_

_Emma let her tears fall and hugged Regina tighter. They had a few hours before Henry was due to be dropped off home and so after tidying the kitchen the couple sat on the sofa to chat. _

_“Why don’t you tell me about… your child. If you want… I think it would be good for you to talk about it…” Emma nodded, moving on the sofa until she was close to Regina, taking her hand. “Well, I told you about my parents didn’t I? It was coming up to a year after I lost my dad. I… I wasn’t handling it well, I got sick, and I drank. A lot.” She paused at Regina’s frown. “I stopped as soon as I found out I was pregnant! I was… well honestly, I loved my baby straight away, but it just wasn’t enough… My boss she helped me, she helped me find someone, here in Boston actually, that just sounded perfect to look after him. As soon as he was born, I stared into his eyes, and I knew that I wasn’t what was best for him, that the love I felt for him wasn’t enough to give him the childhood he deserved…” She wiped away her tears, not noticing the strange look Regina was giving her. “I spent the next year getting better, getting better for him but it was a closed adoption and so I never found out where he ended up, if he’s still with the same people, or if he’s even still in Boston.”_

_Regina squeezed Emma’s shoulder as she stood up, beginning to pace in front of the TV. “Emma, how many years ago was this? How old would your son be?” Emma looked confused at the odd question, watching her girlfriend pace, with a grimace. _

_“He’d be…” Her eyes widened, a sinking feeling settling in her stomach. “He’d be seven now… 8 on August 15th… Regina?” Regina had turned pale and looked like she was about to vomit. “Regina what…?” _

_“Did you know?” Regina’s voice was cold as she appraised the blonde in front of her. “Is that why you came here, to take my son from me?”_

_Emma wanted to reply but all thoughts had seemingly escaped her head. Her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish as she stood to face Regina properly. “What are you talking about? Why would I…?” Her eyes widened again, this time in realisation. “Regina, Henry… he’s not my kid!”_

_“You’re damn right he’s not Miss Swan! I want you to get out of my house, now. I can’t believe you’d do this!” Emma couldn’t say anything, instead she wiped her tears only for more to fall, grabbed her shoes and ran from the house. _

_The only time Regina spoke to Emma over the next few weeks was to get a hair sample. The brunette had decided to take a DNA test to rule out any uncertainty and had already told Emma in no uncertain terms, if it came back a match then Emma was having no contact with Henry. A few days later the results came back, Henry was the child Emma had given up. Emma cried as she wrote a letter to Regina, thinking that if Regina were to stop her ever seeing Henry again, at least she could give him this. In one envelope, she sent two letters, one to Regina and one to Henry._

_Dear Henry,_  
I know your mom won’t give you this until she has told you about me. I know that you have known you were adopted all along, and I know that you have mixed feelings about the woman who gave you up, but I just wanted you to know kid, that she did it to give you your best chance.  
I know that, because I am that woman Henry. One day your mother will tell you why I did what I did, but having known you for a short time, having known your mother, I know that I did the right thing. Your mother, the woman who raised you gave you everything I never thought I could, and I am so glad that you were able to grow up in the way I’d hoped.  
Just know Henry, that I loved you as soon as I knew about you. And when I met you again, before I knew who you were, I began to love you all over again. I know you will grow up to be a fantastic young man and I am so proud to have known you. Be thankful every day for your mother Henry, you are so lucky to have her, just like I was so lucky to know you both.  
I love you kid, Emma.

_She had begun to cry as she wrote her letter to Henry and so when she got around to writing to Regina, the paper was stained with her tears. She could only hope that Regina would pass on her letter, at least one day so that Henry would know that he hadn’t just been thrown away. The thing she most wanted to relay to Regina was the one thing she never had the chance to tell her. _

_Regina,_  
Please don’t throw this away. Please read it, and try to understand where I am coming from.  
I promise you I didn’t know. I think about my baby everyday, and not once when I was with you, or around Henry, did I ever even think of the idea that Henry could be him. You have to believe me, I never at any time considered that he would be in my life in any way after I tried to get him back. Please trust me. I don’t want to take him from you, I’m not even asking for you to tell him who I really am, if you don’t want to, then you never have to even give him my letter, but if you would allow, I just want to be involved in his life, and yours Regina. I never had the courage to tell you, and it hurts me to say the words now, but can’t you see I love you? I think I have since the moment I met you.  
If you can find it in yourself to give me another chance, if we can just get a coffee, you don’t even have to tell Henry, but give me a chance to explain face to face. If I don’t hear from you before the last day of the month then I will go back to New York and never bother you again. I hope to hear from you soon.  
All my love, Emma.

_That was a week ago, and she hadn’t heard anything from Regina since. She knew if Regina were to not respond then she wouldn’t be able to hang around, not be able to risk seeing Henry and Regina around all the time, so she began to pack her few belongings into boxes, just in case. _

_The morning of the 31st, Emma was preparing to make her way back to New York, and was so sure that Regina would not have replied that she was shocked to see a letter with Regina’s perfect cursive in her post box. The letter was short, apologising for the way she had behaved, inviting her round for dinner with her AND Henry, and asking Emma for her forgiveness. It was the end of the letter that made Emma start to cry all over again. It ended ‘Yours Truly’, though there was a cross through the words and on a fresh line, she had written ‘Truly Yours’. Immediately, Emma called Regina, and had been invited around for dinner that evening. That night, the couple had told Henry about Emma and the young boy had been so excited that his ‘birth-mom’ had found them, that he had burst into tears. Surprising Emma yet again, Regina had taken a picture of the three of them, Henry in Emma’s arms, and Regina’s one arm wrapped around them both. _

_~_

Emma was crying again as she arranged all of the photos she had collected into the ‘family-tree’ frame that she had found. Though the gift came from emotion, which Emma was feeling in buckets, and no doubt, Regina would too, Henry was an eight-year-old boy and so would probably rather have something made of Lego, or to do with that Minecraft game. When she had wrapped the frame as well as she could she got online to look for a more age appropriate gift. It wasn’t long after that Regina text, and soon her girlfriend and son were back home. Henry merely hugged her and went upstairs to his room but Regina stopped Emma from walking away with a hand on her arm.

“You’ve been crying. What’s going on?” Emma couldn’t help but smile at the bluntness of her girlfriends words. She stepped off the bottom step so she was toe to toe with Regina, and wrapped her arms around waist, leaning into the brunette, taking a deep, calming breath.

“I was just… I was thinking about the beginning of this year versus the end. There were a couple of times back then when I didn’t think we were gonna make it.” Regina cleared her throat and stepped back out of Emma’s grasp.

“And now?”

“Now I know that whether we get married or not, neither of us are strong enough to live without the other.”

Regina grimaced at the comment before schooling her features. She had hoped that after everything that had happened, Emma might have got over her fear of marriage.

“I was wrapping Henry’s present and I… well I was just thinking this year could have ended so differently. If the postal strike had lasted one more day… if I’d have gone back to New York a day early…”

“If that psycho had stabbed you one inch higher and hit your lung, or if the ambulance had been one minute longer…” Emma huffed at Regina’s expression, rolling her eyes as she moved to the stairs. Regina followed her to the bedroom and sat at her vanity to begin her nightly moisturizing routine.

Emma stood in the doorway, watching her. “You know I’m a cop right? We get stabbed. We survive. We get shot. We die. I could just as easily get hit by a bus tomorrow, but you wouldn’t blame me then would you?” She glared at the back of Regina’s head as the latter rolled her eyes. “I joined the force because of my dad. He died a hero. I am going to try and do my job with just as much courage and bravery as him, and if I do die while protecting the public, or the people I love, then at least maybe I shall die a hero just like him!” She hadn’t expected this to turn into an argument, so she quickly stepped forward shutting the door behind her so they didn’t disturb Henry. Receiving no reaction from Regina, she continued to rant. “I may have been foolish at times, and I did some stupid stuff as a teen, but I’m trying to be better, for you and our son, how could you not see that?”

She didn’t expect Regina to stand quickly, pushing the stool back as she did, turning to face the frustrated and angry blonde.

“Don’t you see Emma? If you die, I die!” Emma gulped at that, frowning at the shaking woman in front of her. “I know we’ve been together a year, but I didn’t expect for me to love you as deeply as I do! I didn’t expect you to fit so seamlessly into our lives, into our hearts. I have never felt as strongly for anyone as I do you; if true love existed, I’d say that is what we had. But the fact that you keep somehow putting yourself in yourself in danger… do you not remember I told you about Daniel? He was my first love, and he chose to take his own life. I very nearly died when he did, Henry was what saved me from that. That little boy is my whole entire world Emma, but you’re like my personal sun. And I can’t, no, I refuse to live without you.”

~

Christmas morning dawned much too early for Emma’s liking. They had gone to bed late, watching Elf and Home Alone before bedtime, drinking spiced apple cider and eating the posh biscuits they’d been gifted. Both mothers watched Henry as he opened one gift on Christmas Eve, a tradition that Regina had introduced and the couple had gone to bed more than a little frisky due to the cider, only falling into bed wrapped in each other’s arms around 2am. They’d shared a merry Christmas and a sweet little kiss before they both fell asleep.

Emma had expected an excited Henry to jump on the bed, waking them up at 6am, like Regina had told him he did last year, but she was alone when she awoke, with Regina’s pillow already cold. Emma frowned and hopped out of bed quickly, looking out the window to see Regina’s car was still there, she was currently in the house. She went to go downstairs when she heard whispering outside the door and jumped back in bed, hiding her grin and pretending to be asleep as Henry ran in and jumped on the bed. She held her face for as long as she could, until Regina joined them and began tickling her until she gave up.

“Uncle, uncle! I give up!” Henry was grinning as Emma jumped up, pinning him to the bed as she tickled him. Regina joined in, this time against Henry who had tears streaming down his face as he laughed. He scrambled off the bed and Emma turned towards Regina with a raised eyebrow. She grinned, pinning her this time, but instead of tickling her, she kissed her, the blonde melting against the brunette as she pulled her closer. Henry groaned and walked out the door, shouting back at them.

“Five minutes then I want breakfast!” He giggled as he ran downstairs, wanting to start playing with the magic set from Ruby. Not five minutes later the couple were walking down the stairs hand in hand, Emma carrying her gifts in her bag in her other hand. Henry was sat on the sofa, reading the book of magic tricks that came with the set and grinned up at them when they walked into the room. Emma blushed and set the present bag under the tree. Henry hugged both his moms and the three of them went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Regina finished first and stood to do the dishes, but Emma grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her into her lap. “Ah ah ah, it’s me and the kid on dishes all day…” Regina grinned, nodding as she lay her head against Emma’s shoulder.

“Mommy, I’m done can we open presents now?” Emma felt Regina grin against her neck; she knew she had a weak spot for being called mommy. She looked up at the boy with a straight face and pretended to deliberate.

“Well I don’t know dear, maybe we should go for a nice walk as a family first…” Though she meant it as a joke, Emma couldn’t help but shiver at the word family, and tighten her grip on her girlfriend.

Henry looked shocked and was about to argue when his moms burst out laughing. Regina stood and took Henry’s hand, looking to Emma as they made towards the door. “You guys go, get started I’ll join you in there in a moment. Regina frowned at the blonde, but followed Henry from the room as he all but dragged her out. Emma tidied quickly, putting the dishes in to soak so she didn’t waste more time and made her way through to the family room, grinning widely at Henry sat next to a pile of presents with Regina sat on the sofa with the same grin. Emma grabbed the bag of presents she’d left under the tree and placed it next to the sofa, curling up with Regina. Henry had gifts from friends, neighbours and some of Regina’s distant relatives and he began opening them leaving the presents from his moms until last. Emma watched her son with joy, she never thought she would get to experience this moment, she never thought she would be this happy.

As he was getting to the end of his pile she began to fret, soon it would be her turn to give Henry his presents from her, though she had bought him some books the previous Christmas, this was the first where she was giving presents to her son, and now she was worried it wasn’t enough. Not only that, but she was beginning to panic about her present to Regina. What is she messed the whole thing up? With a deep breath, she jumped from the sofa and ran from the room, up the stairs to her bedroom, needing to take a moment to prepare herself. This was happening. It wasn’t like she was afraid Regina would say no, but more afraid of what would happen when she said yes. Thoughts of her parents filled her mind, and she say down on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands.

Downstairs, both Henry and Regina were watching the doorway with wide eyes. Before Regina could move, Henry stood giving his mom a quick hug. “I’ll go talk to her.” Emma expected the knock on the closed door, but didn’t expect it to be her son on the other side. He wrapped his arms around her middle and gave her a quick hug. “Mama, I know you’re scared, but mom isn’t gonna say no. She loves you, and she knows I love you. This is gonna be the best Christmas ever, because we’re gonna be a family in every way.” Emma couldn’t help but smile as she knelt down and hugged her son tightly.

“I know that kid, and I can’t wait for us to be a family. I was just thinking about my parents, they would have loved you so much kid, but you and your mom are the only people I have left in the world, and I don’t want to do anything to ruin that…” Emma sighed as she stood, ruffling Henry’s hair. “This is a happy day, come on son, let’s go finish opening presents.” They walked back downstairs hand in hand, Emma trying to school her features so she didn’t look upset. Regina looked worried as they entered, Henry let go of Emma’s hand and sat back down on the floor, while Emma pulled Regina towards her, leaning their foreheads together as she closed her eyes. They stood together for a moment before Emma pulled away, taking both of her hands. Her ‘I love you’ was quiet, so only Regina heard it and she kissed her briefly as the sentiment was returned. They returned to the sofa, sitting together, while Henry opened his last gift, bar the ones from his moms.

When he had picked up all the wrapping and ribbons and put it all in a bag, he sat on the sofa between his mothers, smiling widely as Regina handed him his presents from her. In third grade, he was showing a real aptitude and love of science and so the couple had tried to base their gifts around that. He hugged Regina tightly when he opened his physics building game and chemistry set complete with mini microscope, along with a handful of other gifts. Emma rolled her eyes at her girlfriend for her gift choices and her need for them to be educational and received a tongue out in response. When it was Emma’s turn, she handed him the ‘make-your-own’ volcano set and other little gifts, holding the frame on her lap. When he was finished he glanced at Emma and down at the present in her lap. Emma had discussed it with Regina, though Henry knew that Emma was his birth mother, she had never explained to him why she had given him up.

Without another word, she handed him the gift, taking a deep breath as Regina reached her hand behind Henry, grabbing Emma’s hand. Henry unwrapped the paper delicately, as if appreciating the seriousness of this gift. He looked first at the picture right at the top of the tree-shaped frame, the first ever picture of Emma and Henry. Regina leaned forward and looked at the picture at the same time, giving Emma’s hand a squeeze as she did so. Henry continued to look at all the pictures in the frame and then focused on the inscription stuck onto the bottom. It was a simple one, that Emma hoped portrayed to Henry how much this all meant to her.

_Dear Henry_  
On our first Christmas together.  
I love you,  
Love Mom.

He didn’t say anything, instead he turned to face his blonde mom and wrapped his arms around her neck hugging her tightly. When he pulled away, he smiled carefully at Emma who had tears in her eyes. “I love you too.” It was the first time they had really said it, properly to each other with emotion, and it made Emma’s tears fall, and for Regina to tear up.

Emma cleared her throat and stood up off the sofa, looking back at her soon-to-be fiancée and their son. “Right. Looks like there’s only your moms left hey kid?” She tried to hide her nerves at the thought of what was going to happen next, she was hoping she wasn’t being too obvious in front of Regina but she couldn’t stop fidgeting. Henry was grinning, he knew what was coming and he had expressed to Emma just how excited he was. He turned to Regina first as he jumped off the sofa displaying the frame on the fireplace. Regina stood and moved over to the tree, picking up a small gift bag that was hidden near the back; handing it over to the blonde. She smiled broadly at her girlfriend as she handed her the bag, and Emma grinned excitedly as she untied the ribbon and removed the tissue paper.

She looked up at Regina as she pulled the small square shaped box from the bottom of the bag. She frowned, looking down at the closed box before back up at Regina. Emma tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach, worried that, if this was what she thought it was, it would ruin her surprise. Regina frowned as she noticed the uneasy look on Emma’s face, figuring that Emma assumed it was a ring. “Well, open it dear…” Emma glanced down at Henry who was sat on the floor, beaming at her. With a deep breath she opened the box, releasing the breath in relief when she saw what was nestled inside.

“You bought me a car?” Emma looked up at the brunette, stunned, before her features transformed into a shy smile.

Regina smiled, the relief obvious on her face that Emma liked the gift. “Yes Miss Swan, it’s in the parking space your old one used to be…” She gestured to the window so Emma could see for herself. The blonde made her way to the window quickly, seeing a 2017 sandstorm yellow bug in her usual space and turned to Regina with her mouth hanging open. “Baby, this is too much…” Regina shook her head with a smirk, and opened her arms for Emma to walk into them.

“I don’t know how many times I can tell you dear, you can’t put a price on your safety…” Emma leaned down to kiss Regina in thanks, before Henry made over-exaggerated vomit noises from the other side of the room.

“Seriously guys, there’s literally like one present left, can you leave the lovey-dovey mushy stuff until I’m out of the room!” Emma stepped back blushing, as Regina grinned bashfully at her girlfriend.

“Regina I…” She gestured to Henry who quickly tossed her the gift she had spent so long wrapping and she passed it to the love of her life, unable to look her in the eye. Henry joined them standing by the window not wanting to miss the moment his mom agreed to marry his ma. She unwrapped the gift slowly, grinning at how symmetrical the paper was. She held out the paper to Henry who took it from her, and just like they had planned, the second Regina opened the box Henry yelped in pain, distracting the brunette for a moment.

When he did, Emma dropped to one knee, the cheeky grin on Henry’s face and the flash of movement out of the corner of her eye had Regina turning back to face Emma, her mouth dropping as she realised what was going on. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the classic ring nestled in the box before looking down at her girlfriend who was trying to remember what to say. She pouted, clenching her fist. “I had this whole speech, I’d practised it, and now I can’t remember the words!” Regina giggled as Emma stood up, taking both her hands. “Alright, here goes…”

“Regina, I love you. I love our son, and I love the life you have made, the life we could make together. I’ve wanted to marry you since… well since I realised that you are it for me, since I realised how perfectly you’ve raised our son.

I want to grow old with you by my side and I want us to watch our kid, or kids grow up, our grandkids. I want us to fight as much as we do now…” She giggled at Regina’s raised brow. “Because fighting with you, it’s passionate, and Gods knows I’m passionate about you.” She was interrupted by Henry making a fake gagging noise at the comment, and she rolled her eyes at him before continuing. “I mean, I didn’t want to be that cliché that proposed at Christmas, but I just can’t wait any longer to make you mine, for us to be a real family. So whaddya say? Will you marry me?”

This time it was Regina with tears in her eyes, and she merely pulled Emma closer and kissed her soundly. The two broke apart after a minute to see Henry was beaming widely at the both of them, with Emma blushing furiously. “Well Miss Mills, you’ve not actually given me an answer yet.”

Regina took a step back from her embrace with a frown on her face. “Actually, that’s Mrs Swan-Mills to you.” Her frown transformed to a cheeky grin. “Of course I’ll marry you Miss Swan!” Henry whooped, and Emma took the ring from the box and slid it onto Regina’s finger, pulling her towards her so they were toe to toe again, leaning down to capture her lips. They kissed passionately, pausing only for Emma to lean her forehead against her fiancée’s, murmuring so Henry couldn’t hear them.

“Actually, that’s Mrs Swan-Mills to you.”

**Fin.**


End file.
